The Man Behind The Slave-boy an exclusive Spotlight on Ryan Alvarez

his season's "Life of the Party" etched many classic moments into the Angel archives. From Gunn's uncontrollable bathroom habits to Angel and Eve's romp behind the couch, Spike's uncharacteristic elation for life to uber-Lorne, Ben Edlund's script proved to be one of the most outrageous of the season. However, one man stole the show and undoubtedly earned himself a permanent spot in the category of fan-favorite Angel-verse demons. Ryan Alvarez, who portrayed Archduke Sebassis' demon Slave, elicited one of the great laughs of the season with his hilarious delivery of the line "pee pee." Reminiscent of The Gimp in Pulp Fiction, the scantily-clad Slave Boy struck such a chord with fans that he reappeared in two more episodes of the season and even played a role in the outcome of the series. Recently, CityofAngel.com had a chance to sit down with Ryan and learn about the man behind the Slave. THE GIFT OF SONG Ryan, a native of Portland, Oregon, is one of the luckily individuals in life who has known his career path from a very early age. Unlike many actors, whose families have been involved in performing for generations, Ryan was always an enigma, "My mom did theatre a little growing up, but nobody in my family is a performer at all," he laughs. Always drawn to the performing arts, he took every opportunity to explore the craft while growing up, "I did theatre and music throughout middle school and high school. I did every play in high school. The first play I was in was The Wizard of Oz. I was the mayor of the Munchkins. There was just something about it. I was in choir, which was also a big thing for me. Once I got on stage I just fell in love with it and couldn't get off." Dedicated to his craft, Ryan never found his interests wavering outside the realm of performing, "other than acting and music, I don't draw or paint. I can't draw a house to save my life." Ryan Alvarez, a young man sans pallid flesh and horns Growing up in Portland definitely shaped Ryan's future. With an ardent music scene, Ryan easily found outlets for his creativity, "Portland was really supportive of the classical arts. I sang in community choruses and did community theatre. It's really great up there." Ryan was also influenced by the Seattle grunge band influence, "I remember in the early 1990ss when Seattle was putting out Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden and all that stuff. It was just a little ways away. My brother went to school there so I'd take trips up to Seattle." This eclectic mix of musical elements led Ryan to try his hand at many different styles of song, "In school I'm studying classical music, like Opera, but I've been in Jazz choirs, and I'm in an acapella group on campus called the So-Cal Vocals. We do pop covers and stuff like that. I try to do a little of everything." Currently enrolled at the University of Southern California, Ryan has discovered that artistic education is nothing to scoff at, "Studying vocal arts is intensive. You have to take a couple of different kinds of music history; you have to take piano; you have to learn how to teach voice lessons; and you have to take diction, as well as your general education classes." With graduation in May, Ryan is eagerly awaiting the conclusion to his studies, I actually just finished a big ten-page paper...but I'm graduating in May so I'm really, really close," he says with a smile. "I just have my Senior Recital and I'm done. It's kind of the big culmination. You have a concert by yourself for about an hour and a half on campus." Ryan is eager to refocus all of his energy to his career once school is completed, "I have to admit that I haven't pursued acting with the gusto that is necessary because I'm still a full time student, which takes up a lot of time. As soon as I graduate I plan to pursue it more by being more aggressive with agencies and casting directors. Right now time is a little crunched." Throughout his arduous school schedule, Ryan continued to pursue acting. Working on a number of student films, one in particular left fond memories, "One I remember was a horror film. That was pretty fun. I had to do a lot of running down hallways screaming for my life." However, it was in 2003 that All of Ryan's work paid off when he was cast for a two episode stint on Fox's hit show Boston Public, "At that point I didn't have an agent. It was actually through a student film that I got the part. One of the girls that I was making the film with was also a singer. We started talking about singing for films and she gave me a number for a contractor," he explains. Appearing in episodes "Chapter 63" (3.19 with Vern Troyer) and "Chapter 64" (3.20 with Tamyra Gray), Ryan played a part from his past - a choir student. "Boston Public was great. We just had to lip synch to gospel music, clap, and look like we were having fun." CAST INTO SLAVERY Halloween of 2003 is a time Ryan will never forget. Not only did he get to completely transform into a demon, he also got to attend the wildest Halloween party Wolfram & Hart had ever seen! But had you mentioned Wolfram & Hart to him before, he would have given you a blank stare, "I was a little familiar with Angel. I knew who Spike and Angel were. I wasn't a huge watcher, but I had friends who were big fans and I'd seen a few episodes here and there," he admits. "I'd always known that Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were such great shows and I had friends that loved them were really excited when I was going to be on." Even though he wasn't completely versed in the happenings of the Angel-verse, Ryan quickly embraced the unique aspects of the show, "It's so much fun to do that sort of supernatural genre because it's so different from everyday life. How often do you get to dress up like a demon?" Angel Makeup Artist, Dayne Johnson, creates full-body metamorphosis Having only two lines in "Life of the Party," auditioning for the role of Slave Boy was a very unique experience, "My agent called me about the Angel gig. Basically they asked for someone that was skinny, so I put on a really tight tee shirt," he recounts. "They wanted me to mime the cork pulling and pouring the blood in the glass. Then they wanted me to sniff my finger and say, 'pee-pee.' They laughed so I knew it was a good sign." After nailing his audition, Ryan would undergo a process that none of his training could have prepared him for: prosthetics. "It was quite an experience," he remembers. "About a week before I went on the show I had to go to Almost Human. They cover your entire head and shoulders in this sort of rubber thing and a layer of plaster, and all you have are two tiny little holes to breathe through in your nose. The rest of you is just completely covered. It was a little claustrophobic, but I got through it." Once the prosthetics had been prepared Ryan underwent an application process that he won't soon forget, "Oh yes, how could I forget?" he laughs. "It was three and a half hours every single day to go from the beginning to being completely body painted. There was the mask, which they had to paint and apply, then my entire body had to be airbrushed which took a while. Basically they have to cover your whole face in glue and stick the mask right on it, so it doesn't really do wonders for your skin, but it's not that bad. They're really gentle. To take it off was about another hour, hour and a half." To his surprise, once the prosthetics were all applied Ryan found it quite pleasant, despite being nearly nude, "Wearing the prosthetics themselves on the show, it was a little weird, but they're actually not that uncomfortable. They're really light. The Make-up people are so great. They do such a good job to make sure you're comfortable and doing OK." "There is a picture floating around of me sitting on Andy's knee with David holding the leash." ~ Ryan on blackmail photos Dressing up as a decrepit, leather-clad, Slave Boy would undoubtedly draw curious reactions, first and foremost from his family, "My two older brothers made fun of me. Of course, I'm the youngest, so they make fun of me mercilessly. My parents laughed when they saw it. My grandparents were watching and they thought it was a little weird, but they were very proud of me and they know that it will lead to bigger and bigger things." Still, Ryan found everyone on the set to be very welcoming and kind, "My very first day I walked on the set and they were filming the big party scene for very first time. I walked out and there was a hundred and fifty extras, fifty or seventy-five crewmembers, plus David Boreanaz, James Marsters, Andy Hallett; I mean everybody was there. I walked in and I got looks up and down from the extras, but I just sort of had to ignore it. I remember Andy later said that I scared him a little bit just because I looked so creepy. But everyone was very nice. Everyone on the cast shook my hand and made me feel very welcome. It was just such a blast, especially the party scene with all the demons walking around and the big mega-Lorne creature. He's enormous. It was just a really surreal experience. " Perhaps Andy should have kept his aversion to Ryan's attire a secret because later on David and Ryan decided to capitalize on the situation, "There is a picture floating around of me sitting on Andy's knee with David sitting there holding the leash. It's a pretty funny picture," Ryan reveals. Even though Andy would probably never admit he, he and Slave Boy had something in common: ambiguity. For the longest time many people never knew what Andy looked like under the make-up. Ryan also ran into a similar situation on set, "I never was on set without my make-up because after I took it off, it was the end of the day and I went to my car. But the very first day no one knew who I was. When I got there I didn't know where to go so I just walked onto set. One of the people there didn't know who I was and thought I was an extra so they sent me off to the extra holding area. I waited there for about fifteen minutes until someone realized the error and there was a big scramble to get me where I supposed to be." Archduke Sebassis' [Leland Crooke] w/ Ryan on set of Life of the Party Slave Boy was so popular that he reappeared in two of the key episodes of the season, episode 100 "You're Welcome," and the series finale "Not Fade Away." For his first comeback, Ryan was never officially told he would return, but he had an inkling, "I suspected it. I knew that Sebassis was such a neat character and they never really finished up with him. I hoped I was going to come back but no one said 'you're going to be back.' I Just got a call that said, 'oh, you're back!'" Working with Angel vet Charisma Carpenter was also a perk. "Charisma was very nice. It was just a lot of fun." Making an appearance in the series finale, and getting to inadvertently kill his demon oppressor, was a complete surprise to Ryan, "It was really an honor to be part of the final episode. I had no idea that I would be back, so I was surprised and happy when they called me," he says. However, there was definitely a change in the mood of the set when he returned, "There was definitely a different atmosphere on the set as things were winding down. My last day was the second-to-last day of filming, and there were a lot of good-byes going on as things were being packed up. You could really tell that this was a group of people who had been working together for years." While he may not have been on the show as long as others, it was still an emotional experience, "Of course it was a little sad for me, knowing that I won't come back to this great show again, but I did rejoice a bit as they were taking off the makeup for the last time, knowing that I'll never have to wear that stuff again." Or will he? This past February Ryan agreed to once again become Slave Boy for the Wolfram & Hart Annual Revue charity event, "You know, it's funny. My friend told me 'You gotta look. There's this poll going on for this party. People are voting for their favorite demons. You're in second or third.' So I thought that was really cool and figured obviously they're going to have to ask me to do it because no one can play the demon slave except for me," he jokes. "I wouldn't want anyone else to do it!" And no one else did. At the party Ryan learned about the courtesy of Angel fans, "They were all really nice. Everybody was really appreciative that I was there. People were very considerate, just coming up like, 'Oh it's so great to meet you, can I get a picture?' No one was mean or pushy or rude. It was a really great experience." Would he do it again? "Definitely." TAKING THE COLLAR OFF With Angel over, and Slave Boy's apparent demise, Ryan has headed into the unknown future. His hopes of a spin-off crushed, "my brother's kept saying, 'I'm sure they're going to do an emaciated demon slave spin-off," Ryan has said goodbye to the days of a leather collar and tight underwear. Since his passion ranges across film, television, and theatre, he is unsure where he will be next, "I don't think I can pick. Acting and music are big passions of mine. I love being on screen, I love being on stage, I love how theatre is so in the moment and you just do it for two and a half hours. It's so real. I love music because it's so emotional for me as well. I don't think I can pick, hopefully I can do all three," he says. Focusing on finishing school, Ryan is going to use his skill and confidence to shape his future, "As soon as I get through graduation, which is going to be a trial, I'm just going to really dive into acting and do a lot of the work that it takes like submitting to different places, and making sure I'm seen." Ideally, in five or ten years, Ryan hopes to follow in the footsteps of his friends on Angel, "I think it would be great to have a regular role on a TV show, something like Angel. You can ask the cast; you form such a bond with the people you work with on a week-to-week basis. I think it would be great to have a steady thing like that going." Regardless of where he will be, Ryan is adamant that "people should keep their eyes open, hopefully they'll see me in something soon." Written by CoA Staff Writer, Jeff Ritchie CityofAngel.com would like to graciously thank Ryan Alvarez for taking time out of his studies to allow us this entertaining interview. Special Thanks to Dayne Johnson for the use of makeup and set photos. (Used by Permission) If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this 'Spotlight' feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com